Pentax makes some good cameras

KmH · Oct 5, 2011

Pentax makes some nioce cameras. Many of the lower level Pentax cameras have an all metal body, with Nikon and Canon you don't get all metal bodies till you reach the Prosumer level.

2WheelPhoto · Oct 5, 2011

And you're doing better at marketing them than Pentax does

dxqcanada · Oct 5, 2011

... weather resistance, multi-color and 6x4.5 format.
http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/surprise-the-real-nex-competition-is-coming-from-fuji/

Destin · Oct 6, 2011

dxqcanada said:
... weather resistance, multi-color and 6x4.5 format.
http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/surprise-the-real-nex-competition-is-coming-from-fuji/

Don't forget about the outstanding high iso performance a few of their bodies have! I have a friend who shoots pentax (switched from canon a few years ago) and LOVES it.

bentcountershaft · Oct 6, 2011

When I first bought a DSLR, I was pretty interested in Pentax, but one of the things that put me off was that there wasn't really much of an upgrade path to follow. Once you get to a nice, well rounded prosumer the road ends.

usayit · Oct 6, 2011

Lets not forget the high value MF digital; 645D.

And yes... marketing they do sucks.

Derrel · Oct 6, 2011

Pentax has made nice cameras for DECADES!!!!!!! The Spotmatic series, the wonderful compact mechanical match-diode Nikon FM competitor which I owned, the Pentax MX; the AMAZINGLY-engineered dual electrical- and mechanically-timed shutter-bearing and fully professional LX 35mm flagship camera; the nice Super Program and Program Plus models of the mid-1980's, the venerable Pentax 6x7, the long-lived Pentax 645, now available as a digital, the bare-bones K1000 recently voted one of the Top 100 Tech Gadgets of all-time, by Time magazine...the clever and beautiful, jewel-like Pentax 110 SLR system that my railroad engineer friend Andrew carried all over the USA in the pocket of a Levi's jacket...Pentax has made some wonderful,wonderful cameras.

But for some reason, Pentax has never managed to capture a really wide segment of any market segment. My understanding is that in the late 1960's, the Pentax 35mm cameras were **the system** of choice among European professionals using 35mm SLR cameras, where they were more popular than the admittedly clunky Nikon F pro-oriented cameras of that general time period. I remember seeing a portfolio of high mountain peak skiing and mountain climbing nature photos made on Kodachrome-X, and all shot with Takumar or Super-Takumar lenses; mostly their 28, but also their 50, 135, and 200mm models. The images were exquisite,and I absolutely LOVED the way that old 28mm shot toward the sun...the images were breathtaking...this was 20 years ago,and at that time the images were already 10,12 years old...

I dunno...Coca~Cola and Pepsi~Cola rule the soft drink world [Canon and Nikon]...but there are some other great-tasting soda pops with minor followings and small market shares. Pentax shares the same focusing direction, and lens mounting/dismounting direction, and shutter speed and f/stop "directions" as Nikon uses, so it's pretty easy for a long-time NIkon user to feel very at home with Pentax 35mm-style cameras.

usayit · Oct 6, 2011

Do you guys remember this?

Hehehe... couldn't help myself several years ago to track down the lens and camera combo to add to my collection. Right next to the Minolta 7000.... i

Destin · Oct 6, 2011

Woah. Thats one bulky AF system lol.

Derrel · Oct 6, 2011

Yes, the ME-F!!! I wonder how many (few!!!) of those things actually shipped! Autofocus was not all that well-received in the early days...

usayit · Oct 6, 2011

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/collectors-corner/29492-pentaxs-early-af.html

Took a long time to find operational body to attach the lens.

dxqcanada · Oct 6, 2011

I hope Ricoh takes good care of the Pentax brand.

usayit · Oct 6, 2011

The name itself seems tp be surviving. Ricoh just established a new subsidary...

Pentax Ricoh Imaging Corporation.

Good news... Pentax is first

Bad news... It spells PRIC

lol